Roasted Baby Fingerling Potatoes

I've been obsessed with these teeny fingerling potatoes ever since my sister-in-law served them up on Easter Sunday. They are, arguably, the best roasted potatoes I've ever eaten with their exquisitely crisp exterior and tender, fluffy middle. Spiked with a hint of fragrant rosemary and pungent garlic and sprinkled with a touch of sea salt, they taste like the best french fries ever--even my uber-picky thirteen-year-old loves these (admittedly with ketchup, but whatever. He's eating a whole food, for Heaven's sake!).



Potatoes like these used to be cast-offs, tossed in the rubbish heap (or given to the help) when potato fields were harvested. Now the secret's out and folks harvest potatoes early on purpose because they are so, so wonderful and tender. Sometimes they have wee fingerlings at the farmers' market. I've also seen them at Trader Joes and Whole Foods. Regular fingerlings work well too, but you'll need to cook them a little longer.


I tossed mine with spring garlic (the early harvest kind that you don't need to peel), olive oil, rosemary, thinly sliced lemon and sea salt. I cannot describe how amazing my house smelled. But trust me, it did.


I slice the leftovers in half, brown them in butter then serve them alongside scrambled eggs for breakfast. Mmmm.

Roasted Baby Fingerling Potatoes with Rosemary, Garlic and Lemon
Printable Recipe

Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Yield: serves 4

Ingredients:

1 pound tiny fingerling potatoes
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 a lemon, cut into slivers
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Toss potatoes with garlic, rosemary, lemon and olive oil on a large sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Bake for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown and crisp on the outside and are tender when pierced with a knife.

3. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.

I Heart Salt Potatoes

My dear readers, if you have high cholesterol, or high blood pressure, or a high fear of foods that might contribute to either of those, please stop reading now. But frankly, after two salad posts in a row, I felt it was high time we had ourselves a treat. Not the sweet kind, mind you, but the savory, salty and buttery kind. The kind of treat that turns forks into weapons as those gathered around the table vie for the last few bites.

I've always had a thing for salty, and I'd prefer seconds at dinner to dessert, or popcorn to ice cream any day...and oh, these these tender nuggets certainly fall into that category! Boiled in brine and then bathed in a pool of glistening herb butter, these salt potatoes are utter bliss. One bite and I was hooked--their skin is not quite crisp, but almost dry and and papery and definitely well seasoned with salt. It cracked slightly when I split it open to reveal the most tender and fluffy interior you can imagine. Each forkful, dragged through a puddle of butter, caused much moaning and eye-rolling and contented sighing at the table. Okay, mostly that came from me, but everyone loved these potatoes, I assure you.

When I read the recipe, originally in Local Flavors by Deborah Madison, I was taken aback by the huge amount of salt that was called for. But when I read more about the science behind salt potatoes, it made perfect sense. The high salt content in the water causes the boiling temperature to be increased, which gives these potatoes their unique shell and moist interior. Notice the salt flakes forming on my pot handle...and all that delicious butter?

Very common today in upstate New York, the recipe originated with 19th century Irish workers at the salt flats, who threw small potatoes into the brine as they boiled off the salt. During late summer, it is not unusual to see bags of "salt potatoes" sold with bags of sea salt for the cooking water. I used small, yellow creamers in this recipe, but any baby, thin-skinned potato would work well.

Salt Potatoes
serves 4

1 pound creamer or other new potatoes
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups coarse sea salt
4 T butter
1 T mixed fresh herbs, chopped

Bring water and salt to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until they are tender, about 25-30 minutes. Drain. Melt butter. Mix in herbs and toss gently with potatoes. Serve hot...with lots of napkins.

Red, White and Blue Potato Salad

Let me just preface this post by mentioning that my mother makes a fabulous potato salad, as did my grandmother (it's her recipe she uses). It is creamy and chock full of yummy goodness like celery, onions, and chopped boiled eggs. But it is very, very time consuming to make, and kind of stinks up the fridge (sorry mom...). So we usually only enjoy that treat at her house. The only version I ever make, I found a couple of years ago in Everyday Food. It's nice because it only has a few ingredients, and while it tastes like a double stuffed potato, it is fairly "light" as far as potato salads go because it calls for light mayo and sour cream. That said, if you prefer a full-fat version, please feel free. I've tried it both ways and honestly couldn't taste the difference. Also, because this salad is basically just potatoes, make sure you use the best small new potatoes you can find (the kind that actually taste like something). The other night, I actually substituted a portion of the sour cream with creme fraiche (we ran out of sour cream) and it was wonderful...flexibility and creativity are always good when cooking.

Potato Salad
serves 6

2 pounds small new potatoes (red, white and blue if you so choose)
3/4 C light sour cream
1/4 C light mayonnaise
salt and pepper
5 scallions, sliced
4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Halve or quarter potatoes (depending on how large they are) and boil in salted water for approximately 15 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. While still hot, toss with sour cream, mayo and salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until cold. Before serving gently stir in scallions and then top with crumbled bacon. Taste for seasonings and serve.

"Home" Sweet Home

I know I said that maybe I'd have other things to do today besides blog, and that's true. I did accomplish many, many things...like hosing off the back porches, vacuuming up about a thousand bugs that have somehow migrated into the house (the charms of east coast living), finishing the enormous and mysteriously multiplying pile of laundry, and taking the dog out for a much needed trot to reacquaint ourselves with the hood. But when I've cooked something delicious, I like to share it with you and when I've captured great photos of my subject, it makes it even more fun.

Take, for example, this lobster. I picked him live and wriggling out of the tank, and 15 minutes later, he was steaming hot and ready to go. Talk about fresh food...talk about fast food. Now I know that folks can be squeamish about such things, but lobsters are good and worth the extra effort they take to prepare. If you are uncomfortable holding the lid down so frantic lobsters can't escape the boiling water, have your fishmonger steam them for you. Most will, at no or little extra cost, and you save yourself the time (and trauma) of doing it yourself. I don't mind doing it myself, but it was one less thing to have to deal with for my dinner tonight. And if you are uncomfortable directly having a hand in the death of another living creature, don't even get me started on how many different dead cows were blended into the last burger you ate...

Tonight we had lobster corn chowder. Eastern corn is so lovely, sweet and delicate. Its tiny little kernels looked like shimmering pearls when I cut them from the cob. The rich stock was flavored with the lobster shells and the corn cobs (and a little Better than Bouillon Lobster Stock), and thickened only with a bit of flour and pureed corn, so it's not nearly as rich as other chowders that are heavily laden with cream. Accompanied by a loaf of artisan bread and a hearty salad (provided by my mom-in-law) and it made for a perfect light supper on a cool summer's (late spring's) eve, and a wonderful reminder of Cape Cod's bounty.

The recipe calls for purchasing and preparing the lobsters yourself. If you'd like to give that a go, check here and here with more specific instructions on how to do that. But if you'd prefer, your fishmonger will most likely be able to cook your lobsters for you (it takes about 15 minutes). For a meal like this, when the lobster meat is thrown in at the end, it's a great way to save time. But don't just buy lobster meat out of the shells because you need them to create a depth of flavor in your soup stock. This soup would be a beautiful first course, or a light dinner (with a bread and salad).

Lobster Chowder

serves 6-8 as a first course, 4 as a main course

2 live (or recently cooked by your fishmonger) 1 1/2 pound lobsters in their shells

1 yellow onion

1 T olive oil

1 T butter

3 cups of fresh corn kernels cut from cobs (from 3 ears), reserve cobs and split in half

8 C reserved water from boiling lobsters (or fresh water with 4 t of lobster or seafood base or 8 C of your favorite seafood stock)

6 small Yukon gold potatoes, cut into a 1/4 inch dice

1 zucchini, cut into a 1/4 inch dice

6 scallions, sliced

1/4 C flour

2 T butter

2 T olive oil

1/4 C chopped parsley

Boil lobsters in 8 cups of water in a large dutch oven (if you are having your fishmonger cook yours for you ignore this step). Reserve boiling water and remove meat from claws and tail, first snipping the tips of the claws over a colander set over a bowl (you're going to use all that juice), setting those shells aside. Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Melt butter and oil together and add onion and saute for about 5 minutes, or until it begins to soften. Add reserved lobster shells and corn cobs and continue to cook for 4 minutes more.

Add lobster cooking water (or 8 c of lobster or seafood stock) and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain broth through cheesecloth-lined colander over a large bowl. Heat remaining butter and oil and saute 4 green onions until soft, 2 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, puree 1 C of the corn kernels with 1 C of the lobster stock. Add to pot with flour and whisk until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Return the remaining stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Add diced potatoes and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Add zucchini and corn to the pot and simmer for 2 minutes more. Add reserved lobster and heat through (about 1-2 minutes). Garnish with remaining chopped scallions and chopped parsley.

At Market...Black Kale

I had a lovely Sunday morning; NY and Los Angeles Times newspapers, hot coffee with steamed milk, pancakes and bacon. Then I headed out to the farmers market to collect my week's worth of fresh produce. There were apples, onions, garlic, scallions, navel oranges, eggs, more of that delicious Japanese Bok Choy, arugula, strawberries, potatoes, mushrooms!! (which I will post about tomorrow) and black kale. I had just read a recipe in the NY Times Magazine for potato soup with sausage and "fried" kale that sounded like the perfect meal for a cold blustery day, and luckily I was able to find everything I needed at the market.

After a long crazy day (which unfortunately included a trip to the ER--nothing serious...just a minor head wound), I did finally make it to the kitchen to make my own version of the soup, complete with fresh Portuguese sausage (that was very spicy), and some slivers of baked crispy black kale. After fighting with my stick blender (which kept losing its battery charge) I ended up pureeing the soup in the regular blender, which takes some time but is a fine alternative if you don't have one (or yours is on the fritz). But by the time the soup was finally finished, I collapsed in a heap of exhaustion, not even able to eat the very soup I had been so excited about earlier in the day. My husband swore it was good...and then promptly froze the leftovers, so I will have to wait until another rainy day to try it. I did, however, find the crispy black kale strips strangely addictive, and I stood by the pan, for quite some time snacking on them. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the finished soup, but this post is really about the kale anyway. You must make the kale strips if nothing else...

Potato Sausage Soup with Crispy Kale

1 large onion, finely chopped
3 clove of garlic, minced or grated
2 links of Portuguese sausage (raw, removed from casing)
2 pounds of Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 C chicken stock
olive oil

Pour about 2 T of olive oil in a large stockpot and heat over medium flame. Add sausage and brown for about 3 minutes, or until some fat is rendered, but sausage is not fully cooked. Toss in onion and garlic and saute for about 10 minutes or until translucent. Add potatoes and stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from heat and let cool for about 10 minutes then puree with a stick blender or in batches in a blender. Drizzle with olive oil and top with crispy kale.

Crispy Kale

Take about 6 washed kale leaves (stems removed) and stack together. Gently roll up leaves (to make a cigar shape) and slice thinly with a sharp knife, making ribbons about 1/8 of an inch thick. Toss with olive oil (about 2 t) and a pinch of salt and roast on a baking sheet (spread in a single layer) in a preheated oven (350) for about 10 minutes, or until crisp.

Happy Hanukkah

Last night, my doe-eyed, doll-faced, and free spirit of a daughter came in carrying a package. It was decorated with a Menorah and her standing next to it in a crown of lit candles. Inside was a paper candle on a Styrofoam base that had been stuffed with blue and silver fabric. It was a lovely Hanukkah gift, really, and quite a surprise, because, you see, we are not Jewish. She had decided that since everyone else in her class was making a Christmas candle with red and green fabric for their families, she would make one for Hanukkah. And she knew that she would be able to give her gift first, because the first night of Hanukkah comes a whole three days before Christmas this year.

Over the years, we have had many opportunities to enjoy Hanukkah dinners with our Jewish friends. We always appreciate an invitation, after all who wouldn't love celebrating a miracle, especially when fried potatoes are involved? So tonight, in honor of that miracle, and my lovely daughter, we will eat potato latkes and spin the dreidle (another favorite holiday game in our house). A friend's mother makes the absolute best latkes I have ever eaten. She swears that the secret is to run the potatoes through the food processor twice, creating a light and tender latke. But because this is the first time making them on my own, I tried them plain and simple.

They were delicious...the hit of our impromptu party with good friends. I "slaved" over the stove as our friends gathered in our kitchen, plates ready for the next batch to be finished (all the while shooing the children out of the room). We ate them with sour cream and some apple sauce as a first course to our soup dinner. They were crisp, light, and well flavored with chopped shallot and onion.

Potato Latkes









2 pounds of russet potatoes
1/2 yellow onion, chopped finely
1 large shallot, chopped finely
1 t salt
2 eggs

Peel potatoes and shred them in a food processor. Soak them in a bowl of cold water for a couple of minutes, then drain them well. Place them in a dish towel, squeezing out any excess liquid. Place grated potatoes, onions, eggs and salt in a large bowl and toss well to coat. Heat 1/2 C vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, but not smoking, add the shredded potato mixture in 1/4 C scoops into oil. Flatten with a spatula and cook for about 5 minutes a side, or until cooked through and browned nicely. Serve immediately with dollops of sour cream and applesauce (and caviar if you have it), or place on a paper towel lined cookie sheet and keep warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.

Lots of Leftovers!

Yesterday was a busy one with most of the morning spent putting away the last of the Thanksgiving dishes and decor, and most of the afternoon spent putting up Christmas. My husband tackled the lights outside, and I decked our halls. We love Christmas, and try to put up the decorations as soon as we deem is reasonable to do so, without shortchanging Thanksgiving Day (which usually ends up being sometime Thanksgiving weekend). But our fridge is still stuffed with reminders of our Thanksgiving feast and we never seem to tire of the endless leftovers of turkey, and the many ways in which to creatively prepare it (which I'm sure you will read about ad nauseum in the coming days).

But the first night of leftovers is a direct homage to the meal we partook in the day or two before. I usually enjoy this meal so much more than Thanksgiving itself, because I am not exhausted from days of cooking and cleaning. I slice up the leftover turkey and heat it in a pan full of leftover gravy. We heat up the stuffing and veggie sides too, and try to free-up as much space as possible in our little fridge. But the best part of this leftover dinner is the potato pancakes, which by the way, are quite different from the potato latkes served during Hanukkah. I make a heap of mashed potatoes just so that we can enjoy this buttery, salty treat with our meal. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, these potato pancakes are devoured quickly, with each forkful slid through the gravy on the plate.

Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes

mashed potatoes (about 1/2 C per person)

1-2 eggs (1 egg for 1-2 servings, 2 eggs for 4 or more)

salt and pepper to taste

It is so simple, really. Just toss the mashed potatoes with an egg or two (depending on how much leftover mashers you are using) and mix well. Heat butter in a pan and plop out the potato mixture into small patties and fry until brown and crispy on each side. Salt and pepper to taste.

Bistro Fare

I adore goat cheese and roasted chicken breasts, and this recipe not only combines the two, it melds them into a creamy, juicy and highly-flavored meal. Inspired by a recipe from Ina Garten, I stuff a round slice of goat cheese under the fat on the breast, replace the skin, then top it with a paste made from salt and garlic. The goat cheese will melt slightly and the skin will crisp beautifully. Crunchy, salty, creamy, and flavorful....a perfect combination!

Remember the fat left over from the roasted duck legs? Tonight I will use it to fry pan-smashed potatoes, which are small, white new potatoes that have been boiled until soft, then smashed flat in a pan and gently fried in fat. Olive oil works fine, but the duck fat will elevate this side dish into something really special. I heard an expression somewhere and it is so true: Fat is where the flavor is!

My husband requested something light, I'm not sure if this fits the bill...perhaps if you consider the color.

Two helpful hints:

1. Before I knew this, the scent of garlic would linger on my fingers no matter what I tried. When you are done chopping the garlic, run your fingers over side of the stainless steel blade (NOT the sharp edge) of the knife under hot, running water and it will erase any smell of garlic instantly!

2. In order to finish a plate with professional looking parsley, after chopping it finely, place it in a paper towel and squeeze the moisture out. The result is beautiful, flaky parsley, just like at a restaurant.

Chicken Breasts with Goat Cheese

3-4 large chicken breasts with a good covering of skin
1 slice of goat cheese per breast about 1/4-1/2 inch thick
2 cloves garlic
1 t salt
pepper
handful of minced flat-leaved parsley

Preheat oven to 400°.

Carefully run fingers under skin and lift to create pocket. Slide in goat cheese and replace skin over, using a toothpick to secure if necessary. Finely chop the garlic, then using the side of a chef's knife (the wide kind), smash 1 t of salt into it, back and forth, until a paste has been created. Mix the garlic/salt paste with the parsley and spread on top of the chicken breasts. Drizzle with oil and bake for 45 minutes or until the juices run clear.

Smashed Pan Fried Potatoes

10-12 small fingerling or new white potatoes
2-3 T duck fat or olive oil
salt and pepper

minced flat-leaf parsley

Boil whole potatoes in hot salted water for 10-15 minutes or until can be easily pierced with a knife, but are still holding their shape. Drain in a colander. Heat fat in a heavy skillet (I prefer cast-iron) until hot. Carefully place potatoes in fat and smash with a heavy spatula or fork until quite flattened. Salt and pepper, and fry on each side for 5 minutes, or until brown and crispy. Remove to serving dish and sprinkle on chopped parsley.

Roasted Chicken with Rosemary

It seems so unfortunate to me that autumn here in the high desert means hot, dry, and windy weather. The rest of the country is battening down the hatches, while we sweat it out, or literally combust into flames. Fall colors here come in the skies, as smoke drifts over the mountain tops in crimson and brown, obscuring the landscape and clogging our lungs. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this fire season, as we call it, is fleeting, and that cooler weather will come soon.

I have a serious case of autumn envy. I always have. So I manufacture my own fall. While the temperatures outside still say summer, my home is stubbornly decorated with the sights and smells of an east coast autumn, thanks in part to my mother-in-law who ships me goodies like bittersweet vines and Cape Cod cranberries. And as long as we open the windows early in the morning, my house stays cool all day. I am shocked when I go outside, dressed in pants and a sweater, only to be slapped with the stark reality that it really is going to be 90 degrees today.

My appetite is piqued by glossy magazine photos of steaming bowls of chili, home baked bread and roasted turkeys. Even though the weather still seems to mandate cooking outdoors, I'm as stubborn with my cooking as I am with my decorating. So I will ignore the heat, and cook foods that seem like proper autumn fare. Tonight we will enjoy roasted chicken with rosemary and potatoes. And if we eat late enough, and open the windows again, it may cool down enough to put my sweater back on.

Roasted Lemon Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon

1 3-4 pound chicken

1 lemon, cut in half

about 10 new potatoes, quartered (red or yellow are fine)

2 shallots or one yellow onion

6 cloves of garlic

6 sprigs of rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

splash of white wine

Preheat oven to 400°

Wash and cut potatoes and place in 13/9 inch pan. Quarter shallots or onions and place in pan along with garlic cloves (you can leave the skin on). Salt and pepper generously and drizzle with olive oil. Toss gently with hands.

Remove gizzards from chicken, rinse chicken and pat dry. Push potatoes into a ring on the edges of the pan and place chicken inside it. Squeeze lemon juice from one half of the lemon on top of the chicken and place both lemon halves inside the cavity. Drizzle chicken with more olive oil and salt and pepper generously. Using scissors, snip rosemary over potatoes and on top of chicken. Place a few sprigs inside cavity and tuck one under each wing.

Place in oven and bake for 15-18 minutes per pound. Internal temperature should measure 170° in the breast and 180° in space between the body and thigh when done. Remove potatoes to serving bowl and chicken to platter to rest, covered with foil, for 15 minutes.

Place pan over flame (medium heat) and add a splash of white wine to scrape up any baked on bits. Reduce juices a bit. Drizzle over carved chicken. If you wish to thicken the sauce, make a slurry of flour and water and slowly wisk into pan juices to make a gravy. Simmer for a few minutes more until thickened.